Stamp A PDF With A Clipboard Image
You don't need to formally create a stamp if you're only using it once.
My Windows Taskbar Shortcuts
I have a lot of shortcuts on my Windows taskbar so I can access programs and folders that I use a lot, without having to close or reduce any other open windows. Here’s a list of some of the ones I use daily:
The Acrobat application JavaScripts folder
The Acrobat user stamps folder
Microsoft Paint
Notepad
The Windows Snipping Tool
Web browsers
Microsoft Office Programs (Word, Excel, Outlook)
There’s a lot of drilling down to get to the folders referenced in the first two bullet points, and since I’m in and out of them all day, I can access them with one click from my Windows taskbar. More about my workspace setup…
Screengrabs
The snipping tool is perfect for grabbing a screenshot of a specific area of the page by dragging a rectangle over the area. Paint is good for pasting the entire contents of the screen by pressing the Print Screen button on the keyboard to copy the screen contents, then opening Paint and pressing Ctrl + v to paste. It can then be marked up using the markup tools in paint, and more screenshot images can be added, repositioned, and resized by pasting them from the snipping tool.
Converting the Clipboard to a Stamp and Stamping A PDF
At the bottom of the Acrobat stamps menu you will find an item called Paste Clipboard Image As Stamp Tool. Here’s a screenshot of it:
After copying an image to the clipboard, simply activate the stamps menu, select the menu item, and stamp the page.
Even Easier
Skip the stamp menu and simply press Ctrl + v to paste the image into the PDF as a stamp.
Helpful Tips
Paint/Snipping Tool Combination
You can’t use the snipping tool only to capture an open menu like the above image. That’s because the menu will disappear as soon as you click elsewhere (like the click to activate the snipping tool). Use a combination by pressing print screen, pasting to paint, then snipping out the area you need.
Copying A Popup Dialog Window
A PDF popup dialog window will not disappear until it is dismissed so the snipping tool can be used to copy it. An easier way is to press Alt + Print Screen (Windows) and it will copy the dialog only, not the entire screen.
Stamp Size Issues
When pasting the clipboard to a PDF, the size of the stamp is often increased well beyond the size of the original as shown on the screen. The quality of the image is often poor due to the increase in size. It’s easy to resize the stamp by selecting it and dragging one of the corners inward. The issue comes when the image is larger than the PDF page and the corners are beyond the boundry of the screen. It’s not possible to drag a corner when the corners are outside the screen area.
The solution is to reduce the zoom of the PDF. The stamp will also reduce in size proportionally. One of the corners can then be dragged inward until it is on the PDF page. The zoom can then be restored so the stamp can be resized and repositioned using the regular screen size of the PDF. 25% is a good zoom to drag the stamp corner when the stamp is larger then the page. A keyboard shortcut to increase the zoom is Ctrl + - (minus). Simply hold down the Ctrl key and tap the minus sign until the desired zoom is obtained. To increase the zoom back to the original, simply hold down the Ctrl key and tap the plus sign (+).
